Westlake tech students prove they are best of the best at Ohio State Fair; they credit their teacher

A chat with Scott Kutz, technology and engineering teacher, is like taking a pep pill. One can't talk with him without wanting to jump up and start building something creative. Even better, he makes one believe it can be done. No problem.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. The pudding Kutz has made has resulted in major awards for his students. But first: the curriculum that got them there.

Kutz just received his own drone pilot's license and will teach the class himself: teaching the new age of innovation -- engineering, architecture and product, industrial and graphics design studies, he said. Kutz also notes that drone pilots will be in the forefront of important jobs coming up.

Here is only a minimal description of the amazing things the students created for the Ohio State Fair Technology & Engineering Showcase that was held in the Lausche Youth Center building in Columbus and the awards they received. Hold on to your hat. The future has arrived, and these students -- and others like them -- will surely be in charge.

Kaitlin Willi, Ethan Simon, Robert Fulop (all seniors) and Scott Rennard (sophomore) won the "Best of Show" award for their "Modern Frank Lloyd Wright and Energy Efficient Model Home," the competition's theme this year in the construction/architecture technology category. The group also won the prestigious "People's Choice Award."

Willi spoke for the group about what made the model a modern Frank Lloyd Wright home.

"We showed over 200 pages of research," she said, "more than anyone had, and incorporated features of Falling Water, like incorporating water in the house, how he would have the cantilever portions of the building, and (how he) used materials from Northeast Ohio, like sandstone and limestone."

(Falling Water is the famous Frank Lloyd Wright home near Pittsburgh, an iconic symbol of people living in harmony with nature.)

To demonstrate energy efficiency, they had a list of appliances and windows for the house, as well as solar panels for the whole roof.

Ethan Simon also won the "Outstanding Award Ribbon" for his "bone re-creation by laser scanning" project in the Additive Manufacturing Technology category.

Simon explained just how bone re-creation can be used.

"My sister is an anthropology major at Ohio State University. Over the summer, she volunteered at the Natural History Museum (in Cleveland). A skeleton she was trying to repair was missing a few bones, and so she came to me and asked if it was possible to find something online to re-create the bones.

"I couldn't find anything, so I decided to take the bones to Case (Western University) and scan them in their Thinkbox, a fabrication lab. We learned how to use their scanner, my sister brought the bones, and we scanned them and used the software to clean up the scans to be very precise. Then we returned the bones back to the museum.

"I came home and used a 3D printer that resulted in a final product of 3D printing at 100-micron layer height. This technology can be used in the future to place specimens like Lucy (the oldest and most complete early human ancestor ever found, according to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History) in all schools around the world.

"Other uses for the technology might be scanning a hip for replacing. The 3D printed one, which would be synthetic bone and flesh, would fit perfectly," Simon said.

The team of Connor Reis (senior) and Henry Levenberg (junior) won the "Outstanding Award Ribbon" for their "Single Step Portable Stool" project in the Manufacturing Technology category. Reis did not return a call, but the basics of the project are as follows:

Press a button on the small, uncluttered and efficient-looking, box-like stool. One built-in step extends up. Press another button and another step comes up a bit more, just enough for a little bit extra to step up on. The total is only about six additional inches from the base, just enough to grab an item on the top shelf -- or so many other places for which we need just a little lift.

Robert Fulop had a second project, as did Simon, and won the "Award of Merit." It was called "Vase Design w/Dynamo" in the Design Technology using CAD (computer aided design) category. The project was to create a flower vase combining CAD and computer programming. He demonstrated how he can make changes to the vase quickly for another design -- overall a much simpler way to change designs and with the ability to make more than one change at a time.

2018 graduate Jillian Eddy also won the "Award of Merit" for her "Portable Bike Anchor" in the Engineering and Invention/Innovation Technology category. The anchor provides a way to take your bike anywhere, even where there are no bike racks. It is a small, portable device with a metal anchor like a corkscrew to put in the ground. Then it gets covered with a box-like device to which one locks the bike.

The anchor may wiggle some, but it is very difficult for anyone but the owner to take it out of the ground. It functions as a major deterrent to demonstrate to the potential thief that he needs to move on.

And if that wasn't enough, the entire Westlake High School Technology & Engineering Department won the exclusive "Champion for Technology Education" award.

How does this all happen in one school?

Kutz initially taught 12 years of technology and engineering classes in the Mansfield City Schools. He also taught engineering classes at the Ohio State University-Mansfield campus and technology education classes at Kent State University as an adjunct.

"In an ever-changing age of technological sophistication," he said, "students who graduate from the Westlake High School Technology & Engineering program certainly have a distinctive edge in many ways. In pursuit of the goal to learn about industry, business, technology, invention, innovation and the designed world around them, students in our program are engaged in project-based learning and are exposed to techniques of visualization, problem solving, creative thinking, decision-making, working collaboratively and autonomously, and developing a strong work ethic.

"In addition to learning about STEM careers and technical skills, our main philosophy is one of developing the technical imagination, and making thought visible."

In addition, he said, "The City of Westlake and district administration are extremely supportive of the technology and engineering program in our schools, and as a result, (it) has become one of the premier programs in the state, offering unique classes in architecture, engineering, design and technology.

"The great majority of the students in our program continue pursuing a college degree in a related field. In fact, over 200 former students are in amazing careers, working across the country designing and building cars, computers, furniture, clothing lines, kitchen appliances, Home Depots -- and even one who helped build Crocker Park," Kutz said.

That all sounds like part of the answer, but maybe the rest of the answer lies in what Willi and Simon said about their teacher, who will be starting his 26th year at the school this fall. Here are their comments about Kutz:

Willi: "He is someone who absolutely pushes us to be better. We have to do the best we can, but he gives us the resources to do just that. For this project, he came in over school breaks and weekends and he opened the room for us and stayed there with us."

Simon: "He deserves an award for the best teacher of all time. He is incredible. He is really friendly, and we can always go to him. He is so enthusiastic about our work. He is one of those teachers that will push you to your limit and make you go farther than you ever think you could."